Tower Burnout

When John Tower was asked last week what prompted his surprise decision
not to seek a fifth term in the Senate, his reply was as sharp as the
British-tailored suits he wears. "The idea of serving for another
six years," he said. As the Texas Republican explained it to
friends, he was simply "burned out."

There were, no doubt, other factors prompting Tower's retirement. With
voter sentiment in Texas becoming ever more Democratic, he may not
have relished the looming hard campaign. He greatly resented Senators,
many of them independently...